PRIMITIVE SLINGS
飃石 - 手砲

The Stone Sling or Shepherd's Sling is an ancient weapon taught at Imperial Combat Arts as a sub-style of Archery and Wilderness Skills. Known in ancient China as the Piao Shih 飃石, or "Whirlwind Stone", these missile launching slings greatly increase the power and distance of a projectile in flight. These devastating ranged weapons can launch a variety of projectiles up to around 1,350 ft and at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. 
 Historian Charles Mann quoted a conquistador as saying that an Incan sling "could break a sword in two pieces" and "kill a horse".

COMBAT SLINGS

The Sling has a long history on the battlefield often throwing lead sling-bullets that could easily kill with blunt force through metal armor. Before the strong Composite Bow the sling offered the most range in combat greatly outreaching the javelin and even the first bows. In recent times the sling has been used by military forces to throw grenades, incindinaries, tear gas, and smoke. Rioters and resistance fighters have also made use of slings to hurl molotov cocktails and stones. 
German researcher Jörg Sprave analysed the kinetic energy of a leaden sling bullet as equivalent to a .44 Magnum Handgun (1,570 joules of energy).

TYPES OF AMMO

In addition to stones, lead sling-bullets, and modern thrown weapons such as grenades, there are a variety of other objects traditional to slings that are trained at Imperial Combat Arts.  These include heavy stones up to 5lbs in weight, numerous smaller stones slung at once, whistling stones, stone with holes designed to deliver poisons, and large arrow or darts that are launched by sling. There are also several types of slings that are traditional for varied applications.
"A lead sling-bullet can travel twice the distance of a large stone". -  Xenophon

STAFF SLINGS

Staff Slings are slings on the top of a staff that are designed to be used with two hands and throw large heavy stones. Staff Slings were also traditionally used to throw fire between ships in ancient naval battles prior to the cannon. Some of these slings took several men to use and grew more and more in size until ultimately becoming the Trebuchet, a large siege weapon that slings massive stones at great distance knocking down enemy walls and fortifications. 
"In the hands of an expert, a heavy sling bullet could reach speeds of up to 100 mph and the biggest sling stones are very powerful — they could literally take off the top of your head,"- John Reid.

SPEAR SLINGS

Spear Slings are specialty slings designed to throw large arrows or darts further than by hand alone. These weapons most commonly known today as "Swiss Arrows" may have been the precursor weapon to the Bow and Arrow and is taught as a unique sub-style of traditional sling training. This training is paired with the study of the Spear-Thrower or Atlatl as they are somewhat similar in nature. These throwing darts are custom made at Imperial Combat Arts.
Lead sling-bullets hit with such force they deformed to the point where ancient authors thought they had melted in flight. "A leaden ball, hurtling through length of space, even melts." - Lucretius

TRAINING SLINGS

People often underestimate the devastating power of combat slings, until they hear these heavy stones thud into the ground from 100's of feet away, and see the damage a rock can make on our wooden targets. Training these weapons at combat weight is done very carefully at Imperial Combat Arts as a miss-throw can easily kill a bystander. This training involves target practice, battlefield tactics, various methods of throwing, as well as rapid reloading from a bullet pouch.

TARGET PRACTICE

Imperial Combat Arts Headquarter school has both indoor and outdoor target ranges for Archery, as well as thrown weapons such as the Sling, Atlatl, Knives, and Axes. Additionally there are several ranges used by the school in the nearby Rocky Mountains for the training of Archery and Firearms. Target ranges start with basic shooting then move into reactive targets, moving targets, barricades, flight archery targets, and challenging courses that involve moving and shooting.

THROWING METHODS

There are various methods to using a sling trained at Imperial Combat Arts. These methods depend on the type of missile being used, its weight, and the purpose of the throw. Some throws are for high trajectory, some for close range and speed, and some for use in tight quarters. Other methods are used in hunting and designed to be quick and quiet as to not spook game. Hunting is of course one of the traditional uses of the slings and trained today in our Wilderness Skills classes.

SLING HUNTING

Imperial Combat Arts member only hunting group focuses primarily on primitive hunting with Manchurian Bows, Slings, Spears, Throwing Clubs, and Spear Throwers. Hunting with a primitive spear thrower is a challenging aspect of primitive hunting that further tests our members stealth, stalking, and hunting skills. The Atlatl is a hunting tool that can be made in just a couple hours by one man in the bush and has great potential in many survival situations.

​WILDERNESS SKILLS

From ancient nomadic hunters, to our past Grandmaster who was a Vietnam era Special Forces Officer and instructor of evasion, survival, and combat, Imperial Combat Arts trains its students in both primitive and modern wilderness skills. These classes include Camouflage/Evasion, Tracking, Traps, Navigation, Hunting/Foraging, Rappelling, Knots, Fire Craft etc. These classes are held year round as part of our members standard classes. Enter Page> Wilderness Skills

ADVANTAGES OF SLINGS

The sling offers distinct advantages over other types of ranged survival weapons. First the sling is easy to make from both modern materials or from nature sources. In addition, when compared to a well crafted bow and arrow or spear, the sling is small, ultra lightweight, and very inexpensive. The sling is easy to conceal and ammunition for the sling is both free and abundant. This ammunition can be all manner of objects and allows for ammo to be collected as needed and not carried around.

ROPE FIGHTING

The Sling itself can be used as an improvised melee weapon as Imperial Combat Arts teaches a large and intricate rope-fighting system that at the highest levels enters the study of Spider Kung Fu. This guarded fighting style uses highly toughened strikes, chin na, gripping, and the use of deceptive sleight-of-hand techniques to capture and entangle opponents. Spider specializes in blinding and weapon counters as well as knots, traps, and rope climbing.

SLING CRAFT

Making your own Sling is part of the bush craft taught at our schools. Students begin with oldest and most simple designs and from there can work into their own customs designs. This study also includes crafting of survival bows, arrows, spears, atlatls, and all types of other important  survival gear. Many things used at Imperial Combat Arts cannot be store bought and are made by the school, this includes toughening equipment, liniments, specialized targets, and weaponry.

​TRADITIONAL ARCHERY

Imperial Combat Arts teaches traditional Manchurian archery which has long been a significant part of our military history. This training includes mastery of straight bow, Manchurian recurve bow, and crossbow. Chinese archery varies from western archery, the bow is drawn with the thumb and the arrow is placed on the opposite side. This style of archery allows for fast and dynamic shooting with rapid reloading. Enter Page> Traditional Archery

THROWING WEAPONS

​Aside from the Sling there are other hand-thrown weapons are a traditional part of Chinese Weapon study. While some of these weapons had direct military applications, others are specialty weapons that were designed to deliver poisons, or were used to surprise and soften targets upon approach with a primary weapon. These thrown weapons include Knives, Axes, Spears, Throwing Clubs, Needles Thorns, and Darts. 
Enter Page> Throwing Weapons